Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson had a little extra motivation against the Chicago Bears today. Since his offseason release from Bears—the team that drafted him back in 2005—Cedric has been an integral part of the Bengals’ 5-2, AFC North leading start. This afternoon, he ran for a career-high 189 yards with one touchdown in his first game against his former team as the Bengals thumped the Bears 45-10.
How did he explain having his career-best game against his former team?
“It’s hard to explain. It was a bit of an emotional week coming into this one. At the end of the …read more

The Chicago Bears were so pleased with quarterback Jay Cutler’s first five games, they decided to keep him around through 2013—to the tune of roughly $20 million guaranteed and $30 million in new money. Clearly, this is a tremendous stamp of approval. But is it premature? The Bears are 3-2 under Jay’s leadership. And his numbers aren’t bad. But they aren’t incredibly impressive, either—10 touchdowns, seven picks and an 86.9 passer rating. And he’s thrown for 1,201 yards which puts him exactly in the middle of the league. I’m not saying Jay doesn’t deserve the raise. Only time will tell …read more

The Tampa Bay Bucs chose defensive end Gaines Adams as the fourth overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft. But after two seasons and five games, his career in Tampa is finished. The Bucs traded Gaines to the Chicago Bears for a second round pick in next year’s Draft.
Gaines was widely considered one of the “faces” of the Tampa Bay franchise—hey, he was even one of four players who modeled the throwback orange creamsicle unis this season—so this comes as a shock in that sense. But when you look at his lack of production (13.5 sacks, two interceptions and two …read more

After last week’s debacle against the Green Bay Packers, I was concerned—well not really concerned, actually I could care less—that maybe the Chicago Bears had made a big mistake in putting their entire franchise on the back of quarterback Jay Cutler. Jay threw four interceptions in a 21-15 loss to the Pack on NFL 2009 Kickoff Weekend. But not so fast. That was only one game.
This afternoon, Jay redeemed himself with a 27-of-38 passing performance for 236 yards and two touchdowns against the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. And during the eight-play, game-winning drive in the rain, Jay …read more

Chicago Bears six-time All-Pro linebacker and defensive co-captain Brian Urlacher will miss the rest of the 2009 season with a dislocated wrist—suffered in last night’s loss to the Green Bay Packers. He injured his wrist in the first quarter. Brian was scheduled to undergo surgery this morning when the team got back to Chicago. A dislocated bone had to be surgically put back in and Brian’s self-assessment was that his season was over.
It’s an understatement to say this is a huge loss for the Bears defense, one in which I believe they will have a very difficult time recovering. Starting LB Pisa …read more

Here’s Under Armour’s new commercial (entitled “On a Mission”) featuring a day in the life of “Generation Speed” member Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears. The spot was shot on-location at Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Soldier Field and showcases Under Armour’s new UA Fierce cleats. Brand new track “On a Mission” by Q Da Kid is the soundtrack.

I realize everyone needs their privacy. But when you’re the quarterback of the Chicago Bears and you’re out in public, it’s probably a bad idea to wave off fans who are looking for an autograph. Apparently that’s what Jay Cutler did while attending a Cubs baseball game at Wrigley Field last week. And at various other appearances since he arrived in the Windy City two months ago.
It could simply be a case of temporary culture shock. I understand that Chicago is not exactly Denver. But Jay will have to realize his unwritten obligation to the Chicago fans. It wouldn’t hurt …read more

Newly signed Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was introduced to the Chicago media today. Alongside Bears GM Jerry Angelo and head coach Lovie Smith, it was the obligatory intro presser, but it seemed to be met with a greater sense of excitement and anticipation than any other I’ve seen this offseason.

And even though Jay says he’s not a savior for the franchise (and I agree with him), I think a lot of Bears fans are looking to him as exactly that. Yesterday, I referred to him as the team’s first franchise quarterback since Jim McMahon, so I was probably laying …read more

In an unexpected turn of events late this afternoon, the Denver Broncos traded quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears. Here are the details: the Bears get Jay plus a fifth round Draft pick this year. The Broncos get quarterback Kyle Orton, two first round Draft picks (one this year and one next year) and a third round Draft pick this year.

This deal was surprising in that all signs were pointing toward a trade to the Washington Redskins until the Bears stepped in and made the deal worth Denver’s while. Chicago GM Jerry Angelo was understandably excited and pleased …read more

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
The NFL announced its 2009 Kickoff Weekend primetime television schedule today — including a Monday night “AFL 50th” doubleheader — and the Thanksgiving Day national TV tripleheader.
In a tradition that began in 2004, the Super Bowl champion annually hosts the NFL Thursday night season kickoff the following year. This September 10 at 8:30 PM ET on NBC, the Super Bowl XLIII champion Pittsburgh Steelers will host the AFC South champion Tennessee Titans, who had an NFL-best 13-3 record last season. The Sunday night primetime game (8:30 PM ET) on NBC will feature a division …read more